Dynamic multi zone flow control for a processing system

ABSTRACT

In one example, a process chamber comprises a lid assembly, a first gas supply, second gas supply, a chamber body, and a substrate support. The lid assembly comprises a gas box, a gas conduit passing through the gas box, a blocker plate, and a showerhead. The gas box comprises a gas distribution plenum, and a distribution plate comprising a plurality of holes aligned with the gas distribution plenum. The blocker plate is coupled to the gas box forming a first plenum. The showerhead is coupled to the blocker plate forming a second plenum. The first gas supply is coupled to the gas distribution plenum, and the second gas supply system is coupled to the gas conduit. The chamber body is coupled to the showerhead, and the substrate support assembly is disposed within an interior volume of the chamber body, and is configured to support a substrate during processing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application62/848,306, filed on May 15, 2019, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to systems andmethods for the dynamic control of the flow of gases during substrateprocessing.

Description of the Related Art

Many semiconductor devices are commonly created by forming multiplelayers of different materials on the surface of a substrate. In manyinstances, the semiconductor devices include stacks of multiple tiers ofmultiple layers of different materials. For example, in a 3D NANDmemory, multiple tiers of oxide and nitride layers are verticallystacked to form the corresponding memory cells. The number of oxide andnitride tiers may be in a range of about 50 tiers to about 300 tiers, ormore. During processing, each layer that is deposited experiences arelatively small amount of localized stress non-uniformity (e.g.,in-plane distortion). However, as the number of layers increases, thecumulative localized stress non-uniformity experienced by each layerincreases. Further, in many semiconductor devices, due to the largenumber of layers, the cumulative localized stress non-uniformityexperienced may cause a failure in the semiconductor device.

Thus, there is a need for a dynamically tunable apparatus for reducinglocalized stress non-uniformity.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a lid assembly for a process chamber comprises a gasbox, a gas conduit, and a blocker plate. The gas box comprises a gasdistribution plenum coupled to a first gas supply system, and adistribution plate comprising a plurality of holes aligned with the gasplenum. The gas conduit passes through the gas box and is coupled to asecond gas supply system. The blocker plate is coupled to the gas box,and a first plenum is formed between the blocker plate and the gas box.

In one embodiment, a process chamber comprises a lid assembly, a firstgas supply, second gas supply, a chamber body, and a substrate support.The lid assembly comprises a gas box, a gas conduit passing through thegas box, a blocker plate, and a showerhead. The gas box comprises a gasdistribution plenum and a distribution plate. The distribution platecomprises a plurality of holes aligned with the gas distribution plenum.The blocker plate is coupled to the gas box and a first plenum is formedbetween the blocker plate and the gas box. The showerhead is coupled tothe blocker plate, and a second plenum is formed between the showerheadand the blocker plate. The first gas supply is coupled to the gasdistribution plenum, and the second gas supply system is coupled to thegas conduit. The chamber body is coupled to the showerhead, and thesubstrate support assembly is disposed within an interior volume of thechamber body, and is configured to support a substrate duringprocessing.

In one embodiment, a method for processing a substrate comprisesproviding, by a first gas supply system, a first gas to a gasdistribution plenum of a gas box. The first gas flows out of the gasdistribution plenum through a gas distribution plate to a first plenumformed between a blocker plate and the gas box. The method furthercomprises providing, by a second gas supply system, a second gas to thefirst plenum, the second gas flows through a gas conduit passing throughthe gas box. The first gas mixes with the second gas in at least aportion of the first plenum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic illustrations of a process chamber,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of gas supply system, according toone or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a distribution plate, according toone or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an injection point, according toone or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method for processing a substrate,according to one or more embodiments.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in oneembodiment may be beneficially utilized in other embodiments withoutspecific recitation thereof with respect thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Multiple layers of different materials may be deposited on a substrateto generate various different semiconductor devices. For example, togenerate 3D NAND memory may, multiple tiers of oxide and nitride layersare deposited on a substrate. The number of oxide and nitride tiers maybe in a range of about 50 tiers to about 300 tiers. However, othernumbers of tiers are also contemplated. Each individual layer may have arelatively small localized stress non-uniformity (e.g., in-planedistortion); however, as the number of tiers increases, the localizedstress non-uniformity in the layers may accumulate such that layers thatare deposited later in the process experience a higher cumulativelocalized stress non-uniformity than layers that are deposited earlierin the process. By applying one or more additional gases into selectportions of the process chamber during the operations of the substrateprocessing, the cumulative localized stress non-uniformity in the layersmay be reduced, reducing the in-plane distortion of each layer.Accordingly, the number of layers that may be deposited is increased ascompared to processing systems that do not employ the use of additionalgases.

FIG. 1A illustrates a process chamber 100A, according to one or moreembodiments. The process chamber 100A includes a chamber body 102 havingsidewalls 104, a bottom 105, and a lid assembly 110. The sidewalls 104and showerhead 118 of the lid assembly 110 define an processing volume108. A substrate transfer port 111 is formed in the sidewall 104 fortransferring substrates into and out of the processing volume 108. Theprocess chamber 100A may be of one a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)process chamber, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process chamber, ametalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process chamber, aplasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process chamber, and aplasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) process chamber, amongothers.

A substrate support assembly 126 is disposed within the processingvolume 108 of the process chamber 100A below the lid assembly 110. Thesubstrate support assembly 126 is configured to support a substrate 101during processing. The substrate support assembly 126 may include aplurality of lift pins (not shown) movably disposed therethrough. Thelift pins may be actuated to project from a support surface 130 of thesubstrate support assembly 126, thereby placing the substrate 101 in aspaced-apart relation to the substrate support assembly 126 tofacilitate transfer with a transfer robot (not shown) through thesubstrate transfer port 111. The substrate support assembly 126 iscoupled to the shaft 129 to facilitate vertical actuation and/orrotation of the substrate support assembly 126.

The lid assembly 110 includes a lid 106, a gas box 114, a blocker plate116, and a showerhead 118. The gas box 114 includes a gas distributionplenum 120 and a distribution plate 122 formed on a lower surface of thegas box 114. The distribution plate 122 includes apertures (e.g., holesor openings) 123 which are aligned with the gas distribution plenum 120.One or more gases flow out of the gas distribution plenum 120 andthrough the apertures 123 of the gas distribution plenum 120.

The gas distribution plenum 120 is coupled with the gas supply system144 via conduit 143. The gas supply system 144 supplies, or provides,one or more gases to the gas distribution plenum 120. One or moreelements of the gas supply system 144 is mounted to the lid assembly110. The gas supply system 144 supplies at least one of one or moreprecursors or one or more inert gases to the gas distribution plenum120. For example, the gas supply system 144 may supply one or moreprecursors such as silane (SiH4) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS),among others. Further, the gas supply system 144 may supply one or moreinert gases such as argon (Ar) and helium (He), among others.Additionally, or alternatively, the gas supply system 144 is configuredto simultaneously supply a precursor gas and an inert gas to the gasdistribution plenum 120.

A plenum 124 is formed between the gas box 114 and the blocker plate116. Further, a plenum 125 is formed between the blocker plate 116 and ashowerhead 118. The blocker plate 116 includes apertures 117 and theshowerhead 118 includes apertures 119 through which gases flow into theprocessing volume 142.

The process chamber 100A further includes a central conduit 138. Thecentral conduit 138 passes through the gas box 114. For example, thecentral conduit 138 is formed through the lid 106 and the gas box 114and opens into the plenum 124. The central conduit 138 is configured toprovide one or more process gases, such as deposition gases and/orcarrier gases, to the plenum 124 from the gas supply system 140. In theplenum 124, at least a portion of the process gas or gases supplied bythe gas supply system 140 via central conduit 138 mixes with the gasesintroduced from the gas distribution plenum 120. For example, theprocess gases introduced by the gas supply system 140 mix with the gasesintroduced by the gas supply system 144 in regions 121 of the plenum124. Mixing the process gas or gases in the regions 121 dilutes theprocess gas or gases in those regions, altering one or more propertiesof the deposited film due to localized concentration changes of theprocess gas during deposition. For example, one or more precursors andinert gases may be utilized to alter the in-plane distortion such thatin-plane distortion is more or less tensile and/or compressive. Further,by selectively applying one or more precursor gases and/or one or moreinert gases during different operations of a process recipe, thein-plane distortion may be further altered to make the in-planedistortion more or less tensile and/or compressive.

Flowing one or more gases through the gas distribution plenum 120 mayalter at least one of the in-plane distortion and the localized stressnon-uniformity of a layer on the substrate 101. For example, flowing aninert gas through the gas distribution plenum 120 may dilute anddisperse the processing gases in at least regions 121. The processinggas may remain diluted at a radial location corresponding to the regions121 as the processing gas travels through the blocker plate 116 and theshowerhead 118, thus affecting properties of the material deposited onthe substrate 101.

The plurality of apertures 117 of the blocker plate 116 allows for fluidcommunication between the plenum 124 and the plenum 125. The blockerplate 116 is configured to disperse and facilitate further mixing of thegas mixture introduced to the plenum 125. The plenum 125 is in fluidcommunication with a processing volume 142 defined between theshowerhead 118 and the substrate support assembly 126 through aplurality of apertures 119 formed through the showerhead 118. Theapertures 119 provide fluid communication between the plenum 125 and theprocessing volume 142.

A first gas is supplied by the gas supply system 144 into the gasdistribution plenum 120 and flows out of the gas distribution plenum 120and through the apertures 123 in the distribution plate 122 into theplenum 124. A process gas is supplied by the gas supply system 140 andflows through the central conduit 138 into the plenum 124. The first gasand the process gas mix within the regions 121 of the plenum 124 and themixed gases flow through the apertures 117 of the blocker plate 116 intothe plenum 125. Further, in region 127 of the plenum 124, the processgas does not mix, or has reduced mixing compared to region 121, with thefirst gas and only the process gas flows through the blocker plate 116in the region 127. Further, the gases flow through the apertures 119 ofthe showerhead 118 into the processing volume 142.

Center line 170 bifurcates the process chamber 100A into two equalportions. Additionally, center line 172 bifurcates a first portion ofthe gas distribution plenum 120 and center line 174 bifurcates a secondportion of the gas distribution plenum 120. Stated otherwise,centerlines 172 and 174 are located at the radial center position of thedistribution plenum 120. Further, the distances 176 and 178 between thecenter line 170 and center lines 172 and 174 is in a range of about 70mm to about 160 mm, and may be equidistant. Alternatively, the distances176 and 178 between the center line 170 and center lines 172 and 174 maybe less than about 70 mm or greater than about 160 mm.

A controller 190 is coupled to the process chamber 100A. The controller190 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 192, a memory 194, andsupport circuits 196. The controller 190 is utilized to control theamount of and the type of gas supplied to the gas distribution plenum120 by the gas supply system 144. Controlling the type of gas and theamount of gas supplied to the gas distribution plenum 120 alters processgas or gases supplied by the gas supply system 140 via the centralconduit 138. For example, the controller 190 supplies a first gas at afirst rate to dilute the processing gas within the regions 121 of theplenum 124. The controller 190 may be configured to alter at least oneof the gas or gases supplied by the gas supply system 144 and the rateat which the gas or gases are supplied by the gas supply system 144based on a processing recipe.

The CPU 192 may be of any form of a general purpose computer processorthat can be used in an industrial setting. The software routines can bestored in the memory 194, such as random access memory, read onlymemory, floppy or hard disk drive, or other form of digital storage. Thesupport circuits 196 are coupled to the CPU 192 and may comprise cache,clock circuits, input/output subsystems, power supplies, and the like.The software routines, when executed by the CPU 192, transform the CPU192 into a specific purpose computer (controller) 190 that controls theprocess chamber 100A such that the processes are performed in accordancewith the present disclosure. The software routines may also be storedand/or executed by a second controller (not shown) that is locatedremotely from the chamber.

FIG. 1B illustrates a process chamber 100B having an additional gasdistribution plenum 180, according to one or more embodiments. The gasdistribution plenum 180 is configured similar to that of the gasdistribution plenum 120. The gas distribution plenum 180 and the gasdistribution plenum 120 may be concentric circles. Further, the gasdistribution plenum 180 is fluidly coupled to the gas distributionplenum 120. The gas supply system 144 supplies, or provides, one or moregases to the gas distribution plenum 180 via the gas distribution plenum120 and the conduit 143. The inclusion of the gas distribution plenum180 increases the volume where the gases provided by the gasdistribution plenums 120 and 180 mix with the processing gases providedvia the central conduit 138, further altering the effects of theprocessing gas on the substrate 101.

The gas distribution plenums 120 and 180 may be similar in size (e.g.,have a common height and width). Alternatively, one of the gasdistribution plenums 120 and 180 may be larger than the other (e.g.,larger in one or more of height and width). Further, the distributionplate 122 includes apertures 123 aligned with the gas distributionplenum 120 and the gas distribution plenum 180. The gas distributionplenums 120 and 180 are coupled together by the conduit 139.

A center of the gas distribution plenum 180 may be in a range of about70 mm to about 95 mm from the center line 170. Further, the center ofthe gas distribution plenum 120 may be in a range of about 100 mm toabout 130 mm from the center line 170. For example, the gas distributionplenum 180 is about 75 mm from the center line 170 and the center of thegas distribution plenum 120 is be about 125 mm from the center line 170.Alternatively, the gas distribution plenum 180 is about 90 mm from thecenter line 170 and the center of the gas distribution plenum 120 is beabout 125 mm from the center line 170.

While FIG. 1B illustrates a gas box (e.g., gas box 114) of a processchamber (e.g., the process chamber 100B) having two gas distributionplenums (e.g., gas distribution plenums 120, 180), a gas box may includemore than two gas distribution plenums. For example, a gas box may havethree or more gas distribution plenums. Each of the gas distributionplenums are fluidly coupled together by a conduit (e.g., the conduit139) and one of the gas distribution plenums is coupled to the gassupply system (e.g., the gas supply system 144). Further, each of thegas distribution plenums may have a common size (e.g., a common widthand height), or one or more of the gas distribution plenums may belarger than the other (e.g., have a larger height and/or width). Thesize of the of gas distribution plenums 120, 180, as well as the size ofthe conduit 139, can be varied according to a desired flow rate out ofthe corresponding the gas distribution plenums, which varies how thecorresponding gases mix with the processing gases, varying thecorresponding effects on the substrate 101. Further, the size of the gasdistribution plenums 120, 180, the conduit 139, and the apertures 123,can be varied according to a desired conductance.

FIG. 2 illustrates the gas supply system 144 according to one or moreembodiments. The gas supply system 144 includes gas supplies 210, 212,214 and 216, valves 220, 222, 224 and 226, and a manifold 240. Themanifold 240 is fluidly coupled to the gas distribution plenum 120. Forexample, the manifold 240 is coupled to the gas distribution plenum 120via the conduit 143. Additionally, one or more valves 230 may bepositioned between the manifold 240 and the conduit 143, along theconduit 143, and/or between the conduit 143 and the gas distributionplenum 120.

Each of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 are configured to supplya different type, composition, and/or concentration of gas. For example,one or more of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 is configured tosupply a precursor gas and a second one or more of the gas supplies 210,212, 214 and 216 is configured to supply an inert gas. Additionally, oralternatively, two of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 may supplya precursor and two of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 may supplyan inert gas. For example, the gas supply 210 may supply a firstprecursor gas, and the gas supply 212 may supply a second precursor gasdifferent than the first precursor gas. Further, the gas supply 214 maysupply a first inert gas, and the gas supply 216 may supply a secondinert gas different than the first inert gas. The first precursor gas issilane and the second precursor gas is TEOS. Further, the first inertgas is argon, and the second inert gas is helium. Alternatively,different precursor and/or inert gases may be utilized. For example, oneor more of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214, and 216 may be configured toprovide ammonia (NH₃).

While FIG. 2 illustrates a gas supply system 144 as including four gassupplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 and four valves 220, 222, 224 and 226,alternatively, the gas supply system 144 may include less than four gassupplies and valves, or more than four gas supplies and valves.Additionally, or alternatively, two or more gas supplies may be coupledto a common valve. For example, the gas supplies 210 and the 212 may becoupled to the valve 220.

The valves 220, 222, 224, and 226 control the flow of gas from acorresponding one of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216. Forexample, the valve 220 controls the flow of gas out of the gas supply210, the valve 222 controls the flow of gas out of the gas supply 212,the valve 224 controls the flow of gas out of the gas supply 214, andthe valve 226 controls the flow of gas out of the gas supply 216.Further, the valve 230 controls the flow of gas into the manifold 240.The valves 220, 222, 224 and 226 may be independently controlled by thecontroller 190. Additional valves may be added or subtracted based onthe number of gas supplies of the gas supply system 144 and the numberof connections to the manifold 240.

The manifold 240 receives one or more gases from the gas supplies 210,212, 214 and 216 and outputs one or more gases to the gas distributionplenum 120. The manifold 240 controls the flow of gas, e.g., rate of gasflow, from the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 to the gasdistribution plenum 120. Further, the manifold 240 may mix two or moregases suppled from two or more of the gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216and output a mixed gas to the gas distribution plenum 120. The valve 230is fluidly coupled to the output of each of the valves 220, 222, 224 and226 and controls the flow of gas into the manifold 240. Alternatively,the valve 230 may be omitted and the output of each of the valves 220,222, 224 and 226 may be directly connected to the manifold 240.

The controller 190 (shown in FIG. 1 ) controls the flow rate of gas outof each gas supply 210, 212, 214, 216 by controlling the period of timethat each of the corresponding valves 220, 222, 224 and 226 are open.For example, the controller 190 may instruct the valve 220 to open toallow gas to flow from the gas supply 210 into the manifold 240 for afirst period of time, and to close to stop the flow of gas from the gassupply 210 into the manifold 240. The controller 190 may instruct thevalve 222 to open to allow gas to flow from the gas supply 212 into themanifold 240 for a second period of time, and to close to stop the flowof gas from the gas supply 212 into the manifold 240. Further, thecontroller 190 may instruct the valve 224 to open to allow gas to flowfrom the gas supply 214 into the manifold 240 for a third period oftime, and to close to stop the flow of gas from the gas supply 214 intothe manifold 240. Additionally, the controller 190 may instruct thevalve 226 to open to allow gas to flow from the gas supply 216 into themanifold 240 for a fourth period of time, and to close to stop the flowof gas from the gas supply 216 into the manifold 240. The first, second,third and fourth periods may be non-overlapping, or at least two of thefirst, second, third and fourth periods may at least partially overlap.For example, when at least two of the first, second, third, and fourthperiods at least partially overlap, two or more or the gases may bereferred to as being simultaneously supplied. Further, the length andoccurrence of the first, second, third, and fourth periods maycorrespond to a step of a process recipe for processing a substrate.

The controller 190 may control the flow of gas through each valve 220,222, 224 and 226 based on the operations of a process recipe forprocessing a substrate to generate a semiconductor device. For example,the process recipe may include multiple operations of generating a firsttype of plasma and a second type of plasma to deposit a first layer anda second layer on a substrate. The first type of plasma may correspondto an oxide plasma and the second type of plasma may correspond to anitride plasma. The oxide plasma may be utilized to generate oxidelayers on the substrate 101 and the nitride plasma may be utilized togenerate nitride layers on the substrate 101. Generating the oxideplasma may include providing process gases TEOS, nitrous oxide (N₂O)and/or oxygen (O₂), and one or more inert gases from the gas supplysystem 140 to the processing volume 142. Further, generating the nitrideplasma may include providing process gases silane, ammonia (NH₃), andnitrogen (N₂), and one or more inert gases from the gas supply system140 to the processing volume 142. Further, to generate alternatinglayers of oxide and nitride, the operations of the process recipe mayalternate between generating the oxide plasma and nitride plasma, andswitching between providing the corresponding process gases and inertgases.

The controller 190 controls the valves 220, 222, 224 and 226 based onthe operations of the process recipe to make the in-plane distortionmore or less tensile and compressive for each of the layers. Thecontroller 190 may control the valves 220, 222, 224 and 226 based on theoperations of process recipe to generate a substantially neutralin-plane distortion. For example, the controller 190 opens one or moreof the valves 220, 222, 224 and 226 to allow gas of a corresponding oneof gas supplies 210, 212, 214 and 216 to flow into the manifold 240 inresponse to an operation of the process recipe. The length of time thatthe controller 190 instructs the valve or valves to remain open maycorrespond to when an operation within the process recipe occurs. Forexample, the length of time that the controller 190 instructs the valveor valves to remain open during a first operation may be less than orgreater than the length of time that the controller 190 instructs thevalve to remain open during a second operation that occurs after thefirst operation. Alternatively, the length of time that the controller190 instructs the valve or valves to remain open during the firstoperation may be substantially similar to the length of time that thecontroller 190 instructs the valve to remain open during the secondoperation. Further, the amount of time a valve or valves are openedduring each operation corresponding to the generation of a first plasmamay differ from the amount of time a valve or valves may be openedduring each operation corresponding to the generation of a secondplasma. Further, the amount of time a valve or valves are opened duringeach operation of a process recipe may gradually increase in time duringthe processing of the substrate 101.

The controller 190 instructs one or more valves to be open during afirst period of a first operation and a second period of a secondoperation of the process recipe. The first operation and secondoperation may both correspond to the generation of a first type ofplasma, and the second operation may occur after the first operation.The length of the first period may be longer, shorter, or the same asthe length of the second period. Further, the valves open during thefirst period may be the same as the valves open during the secondperiod, or the valves open during the first period may differ from thevalves open during the second period. For example, the number of valvesopen in each period may differ and/or which valve open during eachperiod may vary. Accordingly, the controller 190 may instruct a firstvalve, e.g., the valve 220, to open for the first period correspondingto the first operation to provide gas from the gas supply 210 and thefirst valve to open for the second period corresponding to the secondoperation to provide gas from the gas supply 210. Alternatively, thecontroller 190 may instruct a first valve, e.g., the valve 220, to openfor the first period corresponding to the first operation to provide gasfrom the gas supply 210 and a second valve, e.g., the valve 222, to openfor the second period corresponding to the second operation to providegas from the gas supply 212. Further, the controller 190 may instruct afirst valve, e.g., valve 220, to open for the first period correspondingto the first operation to provide gas from the gas supply 210 and thefirst valve and a second valve to open for the second periodcorresponding to the second operation to provide gas from the gas supply210 and the gas supply 212. Alternatively, the controller 190 mayinstruct a first valve, e.g., valve 220, and second valve, e.g., 222, toopen for the first period corresponding to the first operation toprovide gas from the gas supplies 210 and 212 and one of the first valveto open for the second period corresponding to the second operation toprovide gas from one of the gas supplies 210 and 212.

Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 190 may control thevalves 220, 222, 224 and 226 based sensed parameter of a process chamber100 (e.g., the process chamber 100A or 100B). For example, thecontroller 190 may receive sensor data from one or more sensorspositioned within a process chamber 100 (e.g., the process chamber 100Aor 100B) and adjust the flow through one or more of the valves 220, 222,224 and 226 in response. The sensor data may be data corresponding tothe flow of process gases in one or more regions of the processingvolume 108 and/or data corresponding to the plasma generated in theprocessing volume 108.

By controlling the flow rate of a gas and/or type of gas supplied to thegas distribution plenum 120, the thickness profile for a correspondingthe layer formed on the substrate 101 may be altered, for example, bylocalized adjustment of precursor concentration. For example, silane maybe utilized during a nitride plasma operation of the process recipe toalter a thickness profile of a corresponding nitride layer. The flowrate for silane may be in a range of about 1 sccm to about 20 sccm.Further, helium may be utilized during an oxide operation to adjust thethickness profile for a corresponding layer formed on the substrate 101.

The controller 190 may further control the valve 230 to control the flowrate of gas into the manifold 240. For example, the controller 190 mayinstruct the valve 230 to open and close to control the flow rate of gasor gases through the valve 230 into the manifold 240. Additionally, oralternatively, the controller 190 may control the manifold 240 tocontrol the flow rate of gas or gases out of the manifold 240 bycommunicating one or more instructions to the manifold 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top schematic view of the distribution plate 122.The distribution plate 122 includes a region 314 including the apertures123. For example, the distribution plate 122 includes at least 16apertures, which may be arranged in concentric circles. Alternatively,the distribution plate 122 includes less than 16 apertures. Theapertures 123 are aligned with the gas distribution plenum 120 andcontrol the flow of gas out of the gas distribution plenum. Further, thedistribution plate 122 includes cavity 310 that is aligned with thecentral conduit 138. A non-perforated (e.g., free of apertures 123)region 312 is between the cavity 310 and the region 314. Additionally,the distribution plate 122 may be attached to the bottom of the gas box114. For example, the distribution plate 122 may be welded to the bottomof the gas box 114. The size and/or location of the apertures 123 may beconfigured to provide a pressure drop of about 3× to about 5× across theapertures 123.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic bottom view of an injector point 400 forthe gas distribution plenum 120. The injector point 400 is positionedbetween the conduit 143 and the gas distribution plenum 120. The gasdistribution plenum 120 may include multiple injector points 400.Further, each injector point 400 may include one or more conduits 410.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , the injector point 400 includesfour conduits, the conduits 410 a-410 d. Alternatively, the injectorpoint 400 may include more or less than four conduits. Additionally, theconduits 410 maybe positioned in different positions than what isillustrated in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of method 500 for processing a substrate,according to one or more embodiments. At operation 510, a first gas isintroduced to a gas distribution plenum. For example, the controller 190may instruct the gas supply system 144 to supply a first gas to the gasdistribution plenum 120 based on a first operation of a process recipe.The first gas may be a precursor or an inert gas. With reference to FIG.2 , the controller 190 may instruct the valve 220 to open for a firstperiod such that a gas may flow out the gas supply 210 into the manifold240 and into the gas distribution plenum 120. The controller 190 mayinstruct the valve 220 to open for the first period in response to afirst operation of a process recipe for processing the substrate 101.The first operation may correspond to the generation of a first plasmawithin the processing volume 142.

The controller 190 may determine which valve 220, 222, 224, and 226 tobe opened and the length of time for the valve to be open based on theoperation of the process recipe. For example, the controller 190 mayalter the amount of time and which valve 220, 222, 224, and 226 isopened based on when an operation occurs within the process recipe.

At operation 520, a processing gas is introduced to the plenum 124. Forexample, the controller 190 instructs the gas supply system 140 tosupply a processing gas to the plenum 124 via the central conduit 138.The controller 190 may instruct the gas supply system to may supply thefirst processing gas to the plenum 124 based on the first operation ofthe process recipe. In one example, operations 510 and 520 occurconcurrently.

Supplying the first gas based on the first operation of the processrecipe may include supplying at least one of a first inert gas and afirst precursor and/or selecting the rate of flow for the first gascorresponding to the process gas or gases output by the gas supplysystem 140 based on the first operation of the process recipe. Forexample, the first operation of the process recipe may includegenerating an oxide plasma to deposit an oxide layer on the substrate101, and the gas supply system 144 may correspondingly output at leastone of argon, helium and TEOS.

At operation 530, a second gas is introduced to the gas distributionplenum. For example, the controller 190 may instruct the gas supplysystem 144 to output a second gas based on a second operation of theprocess recipe. The second gas may be a precursor or an inert gas. Withreference to FIG. 2 , the controller 190 may instruct the valve 224 toopen for a second period such that a gas may flow out the gas supply 214into the manifold 240 and into the gas distribution plenum 120. Thecontroller 190 may instruct the valve 224 to open for the second periodin response to the second operation of a process recipe for processingthe substrate 101. The first operation may correspond to the generationof a second plasma within the processing volume 142.

At operation 540, a second processing gas is introduced to the plenum124. For example, the controller 190 instructs the gas supply system 140to supply one or more processing gases based on the second operation ofthe process recipe to the plenum 124. Supplying the second gas mayinclude supplying one or more of helium, argon and silane in response tothe second operation of the process recipe corresponding to generating anitride plasma in the processing volume 142 to deposit a nitride layeron the substrate 101. In one example, operations 530 and 540 occurconcurrently.

The in-plane distortion within layers deposited on a substrate may beadjusted through the application of one or more inert gases and/orprecursors to select regions of the processing volume. For example, oneor more inert gases and/or precursors may be supplied to the gasdistribution plenum 120 disposed within the gas box 114 and mixed withprocessing gases in the regions 121 of the plenum 124 to make thein-plane distortion more tensile or compressive of each layer, reducingthe in-place distortion of each layer. Additionally, the application ofone or more inert gases and precursors to select regions of theprocessing volume of the process chamber may adjust the thicknessnon-uniformity within layers deposited on a substrate.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lid assembly for a process chamber, the lidassembly comprising: a conduit; a blocker plate; a gas box including afirst plenum surrounding the conduit; and a distribution platepositioned between the blocker plate and the gas box, the distributionplate comprising: a central cavity, a first region, and a second region,wherein the first region has a plurality of apertures in fluidcommunication with the first plenum, the second region is free ofapertures and is located between the central cavity and the firstregion, the first plenum is in fluid communication with a second plenumdefined between the distribution plate and the blocker plate via theplurality of apertures, the blocker plate is coupled to the gas box, andthe conduit extends through the gas box and through the central cavityof the distribution plate to the second plenum.
 2. The lid assembly ofclaim 1 further comprising a showerhead coupled to the blocker plate anda third plenum defined between the blocker plate and the showerhead. 3.The lid assembly of claim 1, wherein the gas box further comprises anadditional plenum fluidly coupled to the first plenum.
 4. The lidassembly of claim 1, wherein the first plenum is about 70 mm to about160 mm from a center of the gas box.
 5. A process chamber comprising: alid assembly comprising: a conduit; a blocker plate; a gas boxcomprising a first plenum surrounding the conduit; and a distributionplate positioned between the blocker plate and the gas box, thedistribution plate comprising: a central cavity, a first region, and asecond region, wherein the first region has a plurality of apertures influid communication with the first plenum, the first plenum is in fluidcommunication with a second plenum defined between the distributionplate and the blocker plate via the plurality of apertures, the conduitextends through the central cavity of the distribution plate to thesecond plenum, and the blocker plate is coupled to the gas box; ashowerhead coupled to the blocker plate, wherein a third plenum definedbetween the blocker plate and the showerhead is at least partiallybounded by the showerhead and the blocker plate; a chamber body coupledto the showerhead; and a substrate support assembly disposed within aninterior volume of the chamber body, wherein the substrate supportassembly is configured to support a substrate during processing.
 6. Theprocess chamber of claim 5, further comprising a controller configuredto control, based on a process recipe, a flow rate of at least one of aprecursor gas and an inert gas.
 7. The process chamber of claim 5,wherein the first plenum is about 70 mm to about 160 mm from a center ofat least one of the gas box and the substrate support assembly.
 8. Theprocess chamber of claim 5, further comprising a first gas supply systemcoupled to the first plenum, wherein the first gas supply systemcomprises one or more gas supplies, one or more valves, and a gasmanifold, wherein each of the one or more gas supplies is coupled to arespective one of the one or more valves.
 9. The process chamber ofclaim 8, wherein the gas manifold is coupled to the lid assembly. 10.The process chamber of claim 5, wherein the gas box further comprises anadditional plenum fluidly coupled to the first plenum.
 11. The lidassembly of claim 1 further comprising a lid, wherein the gas boxfurther comprises a first surface coupled to the lid and a secondsurface coupled to the distribution plate, and the first surface isopposite the second surface.
 12. The lid assembly of claim 3, whereinthe additional plenum surrounds the conduit.
 13. The lid assembly ofclaim 12, wherein the first plenum surrounds the additional plenum. 14.The lid assembly of claim 13, wherein the additional plenum is fluidlycoupled to the second plenum via an additional plurality of apertures inthe distribution plate.